PFFF 2010: Features

SEXY KILLER

Spain, dir: Miguel Marti – No-one would believe Barbara (Macarena Gomez) is a serial killer? After all, she’s more Paris Hilton. than Hannibal Lecter. But you’d be wrong – so who better to have around, when the resurrected dead invade the campus where she’s a student? Marti and writer Paco Cabezas have created a delightful genre-busting extravaganza, combining slasher flicks, zombie movies, serial killer films and much more. It’s clear they adore the genre, and in Barbara have given us one of the most striking (anti-?) heroines of the past decade.

“One of the smartest horror-comedies to come out of Spain in a long time… Snappily directed, wonderfully paced, smartly acted and very colourful to boot, it’s hard not to like Sexy Killer unequivocally… Thoroughly recommended.” — EatMyBrains.com

“The ultimate definition of a crowd-pleaser… Deranged, no-barrels-held, unscrupulous and 100% original miscellany of bloody horror and vulgar comedy… Accessible and hilarious at all times. See this film, if possible with friends and a truckload of alcohol and you will have a guaranteed blast.” — CultReviews.com

US, Dir: Dan Dooley – After Zoey (Cari Sanders) awakens to find herself in an underground shelter; a doctor (Will Tulin) explains that an epidemic has killed most of the population outside. However, the greatest threat to life and sanity may not be outside… Shellter packs a wallop on both visceral and intellectual levels. With its one-set location giving it claustrophobic intensity, Dooley has created a brutal examination, asking how far someone will go in order to survive. The answer is, further than you think. Director in attendance for Q+A.

“One of the most terrifying films I have ever seen… [Goes] much further than anything that has been done in the Saw or Hostel movies. It is also much more intelligent than anything in either of these film franchises. Shellter had me squirming uncomfortably in my seat, and I loved every second of it.” – Scott Mendelson, Valley Scene magazine

US, Dir: Michael Paul – It’s bad enough that Lily lost her husband, Roman, to another woman. But what makes it unbearable is that he and his new love, Angela, now live on the next-door farm to Lily and her fiercely-loyal brother, Amos. As their wedding approaches, Lily’s obsession with getting Roman back mutates into seething resentment at the moral corruption she finds, not just in her former husband, but in the rest of their community.

Reminiscent of The Passion of Darkly Noon, this paints a disturbing picture located at the intersection of religious morality, sexual tension and rural isolation. It’s a combination that rarely ends well, especially given the sort of upbringing to which Lily was subjected. Anne Paul, who also wrote the screenplay, gives a startling performance as Lily, combining fragility and cruelty in her portrayal of a badly-damaged psyche.

US, dir: Devi Snively – A group of friends head off for a quite weekend of recreational drug-use in a remote cabin. But when one of their number starts telling stories of the psychotic killer that lore has it lurks in the area, a sense of unease and paranoia begins to grow on the group, and their altered state of consciousness being “enjoyed” begins to be more of a problem than a solution.

From the creators of Teenage Bikini Vampire and Confederate Zombie Massacre!, Snively throws every medium from animation to puppetry into the mix, to create a stoner horror-comedy from hell. Expect frog splatter, bear-traps and one of the most surreal trip sequences this side of Alejandro Jodorowsky.

“Snively takes what could be just a tired horror staple and moves it in different directions, coming up with something much more original.” — Trash City

UK, Dir: Matt ‘MJ’ Stone – Five friends head out for a quiet weekend in a country cottage, only to plow into a girl on a remote rural road. Unable to contact authorities, the body is put in the trunk, only for it to have vanished the next morning. Shaken by this, they decide to say nothing, and go on to the cottage. But there, they start to see the girl, blood-spattered and clearly not happy with them; it’s decided to hold a seance, to try and find out who she is, and what she wants from them.

Funded off the director’s credit-cards, Ouija Board is a spooky tale, one which prefers to invoke supernatural terror than extreme gore. With a cast in single-digits, and hardly more than one location, Stone knows his limitations and works within them to deliver a movie that largely belies its micro-budget. We also guarantee that you’ll also never look the same way at an electric toothbrush again…

“A storming horror picture with genuine chills and frights and a generally cohesive and original plot… Every one of the cast turns in a note-perfect performance… I really enjoyed Ouija Board. It’s a joy to watch an effective, dramatic, unashamed horror film like this.” — MJ Simpson

“[Stone] does a lot with a low-budget… the fact that he gets solid performances out of all of his actors only helps matters… For a first-time director, and as a starting point, it’s actually pretty impressive…If you’re interested in low-budget horror and the things that people try to do with a low-budget, it’s worth checking out.” — moviecynics.com